Voters come up trumps

The party will have to work hard to present itself to Americans as a sensible, centre-right alternative.

- Chris Finlayson

Like a lot of New Zealanders with an interest in US politics, I followed the recent midterm election results. As many commentators are saying, far from being a red wave, it was more like a rosé ripple. The expected Republican tsunami failed to eventuate because of the poor-quality candidates, handpicked by Donald Trump, who proceeded to make fools of themselves and the GOP.

Congressional seats in places such as Maine, New Hampshire and Connecticut, which should have been won, were lost because New Englanders found Trump repellent. In a ruby-red district in Colorado, one of Trump's handpicked candidates, a far-right zealot who is also an election denier, is struggling to hold her seat. This all showed the wisdom of the electorate: they are sick of Trump, his insults and narcissism; they just want him to go away.

Some say that in the past few days, Trump has been behaving like a seven-year old trapped in the body of a 76-year-old, raging against everyone, including his wife, who apparently came up with the idea of having a celebrity quack doctor as the Senate candidate in Pennsylvania.